Similarly, in South Korea, HSI has begun identifying dog meat farms in the East Asian country and is working on pulling the dogs out of the farms.

In South Korea, 60 percent of the people eat dog meat regularly, according to the World Dog Alliance (WDA). And it does not go as far as just eating the flesh – Koreans use dog flesh extracts in skin lotions.

Additionally, earlier this year, the country’s city court ruled it was illegal to kill dogs for food.

In Vietnam, where as many as five million dogs are eaten every year, Hanoi officials announced that the sale of dog meat will be banned from the central districts of the city beginning in 2021.

The Hanoi People’s Committee released a statement urging Hanoi’s citizens to abandon the habit of eating both dog and cat meat.

“Slaughtering and using dog and cat meat has created objections among tourists and international visitors living in Hanoi, affecting the image of a civilized capital,” the statement read.

Southeast Asia Globe cited a Hanoi Department of Health representative as saying that there are plans to “gradually phase out the slaughtering and trading of dog meat.”

A store that selling dog meat at Hanoi’s Old Quarter in Vietnam. For many Vietnamese, dog meat is a delicacy that is thought to increase stamina. Source: Shutterstock.

Currently, there are more than 1,000 shops selling dog and cat meat in Hanoi alone. And according to HSI, more than 80,000 dogs are trafficked from Thailand and Laos to meet the demands in Vietnam each year.

The Department of Health hopes that “by 2021, there will be no dog meat restaurants in the city center”.

The move is also part of a national program to stamp out rabies, caused by the improper raising of the animals, by 2021.